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LMS · head to head

Nearpod vs Sakai

Nearpod logo

Nearpod

LMS

Interactive lessons that engage every student

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sakai logo

Sakai

LMS

Open source learning management system governed by the Apereo Foundation

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Nearpod free plan limited to 40 student joins per lesson, restricting larger classroom use; Sakai the zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.
  • They diverge on capability: Nearpod covers Interactive slides, Sakai covers Course sites.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Nearpod and Sakai actually diverge.

Attributes where Nearpod and Sakai differ
AttributeNearpodSakai
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, ChromebookWeb, Linux, iOS, Android
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Nearpod

  • Interactive slides
  • Virtual reality
  • Gamification
  • Polls
  • Open-ended questions
  • Draw It
  • Collaborate board
  • Reports

Only in Sakai

  • Course sites
  • Tests and Quizzes
  • Gradebook
  • Lessons
  • Assignments
  • Forums and messaging
  • LTI support
  • Self-hosting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Nearpod

  • Interactive lessonsnot Sakai
  • Formative assessmentnot Sakai
  • Student engagementnot Sakai
  • Virtual learningnot Sakai

Sakai

  • A university whose data protection policy or national regulation requires student coursework to stay on institution-controlled infrastructure inside a specific jurisdiction.not Nearpod
  • An institution that has been repriced twice by a commercial LMS vendor after ownership changes and wants a platform with no owner to sell it.not Nearpod
  • A university with an existing Java and Tomcat operations team, where the marginal cost of running one more Java application is genuinely low.not Nearpod
  • A consortium of institutions sharing one deployment and one set of local integrations rather than each paying separate per-student licences.not Nearpod

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Nearpod

  • Free plan limited to 40 student joins per lesson, restricting larger classroom use
  • Paid plans require annual commitment with limited monthly flexibility
  • Advanced collaboration features restricted to district/school level plans
  • VR features depend on student device compatibility

Sakai

  • The zero licence fee is misleading: running Sakai needs Java operations, database administration and upgrade testing capacity, and universities that costed only the hardware have ended up paying a hosting partner anyway.
  • The third-party teaching tool ecosystem builds and tests for Canvas first, so Sakai adopters do their own LTI integration work and occasionally wait for a vendor to certify against a platform it does not prioritise.
  • Because governance is a foundation of member institutions rather than a company, a feature only gets built if some institution funds an engineer to build it, so roadmap commitments are weaker than a vendor contract provides.
  • The interface, while improved through the version 20 to 25 cycle, still reads as older than Canvas or Brightspace, and academic staff who have used a commercial LMS elsewhere notice it immediately.
  • Adoption is concentrated in specific regions and sectors, so the pool of people who have run Sakai in production is small, making it harder to hire an administrator than for Moodle or Canvas.

Pricing, plan by plan

Nearpod

Free
  • SilverFree
    • 300 MB storage
    • 40 student joins per lesson
    • 22,000+ library resources
  • Gold$159/year
    • 1 GB storage
    • 75 student joins per lesson
    • AI Question Generator
  • Platinum$397/year
    • 5 GB storage
    • 90 student joins per lesson
    • Student notes capability

Sakai

Free
  • SakaiFree
    • Educational Community Licence, no licence fee
    • Full source on GitHub
    • Community support through Apereo lists and Jira
  • Commercial hosting and support$undefined/year
    • Provided by Apereo affiliates such as Longsight
    • Hosting, upgrades, backups and support
    • Quoted per institution, commonly by student headcount

Which should you pick?

Choose Nearpod if

  • You need interactive slides.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Chromebook.
  • You also want virtual reality.
Nearpod review

Choose Sakai if

  • You need course sites.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tests and quizzes.
Sakai review

Questions people ask

Is Nearpod or Sakai better?
Neither clearly leads. Nearpod starts at Free and Sakai at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Nearpod or Sakai?
Nearpod starts at Free and Sakai at Free.
Does Nearpod or Sakai run on more platforms?
Nearpod runs on Web, iOS, Android, Chromebook. Sakai runs on Web, Linux, iOS, Android.
Can I use Nearpod for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Nearpod best used for?
Nearpod is most often used for interactive lessons, formative assessment, student engagement, virtual learning. Of those, interactive lessons and formative assessment are not what Sakai is typically brought in for.
What can Nearpod do that Sakai cannot?
Nearpod covers Interactive slides, Virtual reality, Gamification, Polls. Sakai covers Course sites, Tests and Quizzes, Gradebook, Lessons.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Nearpod: What is included in Nearpod's free plan?

The free Silver plan includes 300 MB storage, 40 student joins per lesson, and access to core features with 22,000+ library resources.

Source
Sakai: Is Sakai still actively developed?

Yes. Version 25.0 shipped in 2025, 25.1 followed in November 2025, and further maintenance releases in the 25 line are planned, with commits continuing through 2026.

Nearpod: Can I import existing presentations into Nearpod?

Yes, you can upload PowerPoints, Google Slides, and PDFs to make them interactive with Nearpod's tools.

Source
Sakai: Who owns Sakai?

No company does. Governance sits with the Apereo Foundation, a membership organisation of institutions, and the code is under the Educational Community Licence.

Nearpod: Does Nearpod integrate with learning management systems?

Yes, Nearpod integrates with Canvas, Google Classroom, Schoology, Blackboard, and other LMS platforms with single sign-on and rostering support.

Source
Sakai: What does it actually cost to run?

The software is free. The cost is Java hosting and staff, or a commercial hosting agreement with an Apereo affiliate such as Longsight, typically quoted by student headcount.

Sakai: How does it compare to Moodle?

Moodle has a far larger plugin ecosystem and installed base; Sakai has a cleaner assessment and gradebook model and is more common in research-intensive universities. Moodle is easier to hire for.

Sakai: Can we migrate off it later?

Yes, but course content export fidelity through Common Cartridge is imperfect, so budget for manual rebuilding of assessments as you would leaving any LMS.

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